GB2484146B discloses a stick vacuum cleaner comprising a handheld vacuum cleaner to which a wand and a cleaner head are attached. As the cleaner head is pushed back and forth across the floor during use, the force exerted by the user on the vacuum cleaner, and hence the cleaner head, fluctuates.
For example, on a forward stroke, the user exerts a pushing force on the stick vacuum cleaner. The wheels on the neck of the floor tool are therefore pressed against the surface being cleaned. For carpeted surfaces, the wheels on the neck of the cleaner head are pushed downwardly into the carpet pile. The effect is that the relatively buoyant forward part of the cleaner head and the soleplate tilts upwardly; reducing penetration of the brushbar into the carpet, which reduces cleaning effectiveness.
Conversely, on a rearward stroke, the user exerts a pulling force on the stick vacuum cleaner. Typically, a user will pull in an upward and rearward direction, which can, in some circumstances, lift the wheels on the neck of the cleaner head and the soleplate away from the surface being cleaned thereby reducing the effectiveness of the seal between the cleaner head and the surface. The reduction in the partial vacuum generated within the cleaner head which is caused by lifting of the soleplate from the floor produces a deterioration in pick up performance.